Merivel: A Man of His Time - Rose Tremain - Guest review

Sir Robert Merivel is a deeply-flawed but loveable character, whose early life was chronicled in Tremain’s Booker short-listed novel Restoration. Born to an honest, God-fearing haberdasher, Merivel trains as a medic before becoming a favourite in the court of  King Charles. A life of debauchery and sexual excess is funded by the crown, Merivel’s reward for being a paper-groom to the king’s youngest mistress. But he makes a big mistake, and pays dearly for it; destitute, he is cast out of his beloved home Bidnold and is forced to beg his Quaker friend Pearce for shelter. And there is worse to come…

By the time we meet Merivel at the beginning of this sequel, his fortunes have once again changed. Restored to the King’s favour and to Bidnold, he is cared for by his devoted staff and adored by his beautiful daughter. Happy, but restless, he undertakes a journey to Versailles and the court of Louis, the Sun King.

I have had a copy of Restoration on my shelf for some years and it was only the arrival of a review copy of Merivel that made me lift it down. Although Merivel can be read as a stand-alone novel, it helps to have an understanding of the relationships that have evolved in the earlier novel. Although I’ve read a range of historical novels from Phillipa Gregory to Elizabeth Chadwick, from Georgette Heyer to Anya Seton, I’m not a great connoisseur of the genre. I enjoy some, but very often I find an author’s need to adhere to historical accuracy results in lacklustre storytelling and unimaginative characterisation.

Not so with Tremain. Sir Robert Merivel is a gem. His story is told in first person in a journal that he calls The Wedge. His observations on life are suffused with self-deprecating humour; even at his most debauched and reckless he maintains a comic and painful self-awareness. For all his faults, he is loyal to both his monarch and his staff, cares for his patients with tenderness and insight, and constantly strives to be a better man. It is easy to feel a certain fondness for Merivel, especially having followed his changing fortunes as a young man.

The settings are richly detailed, whether Tremain is describing the excesses of the English and French courts, the poverty of the Whittlesea Asylum or the steamy (in all senses!) laundry owned by the voluptuous Rosie Pierpoint. The language is sufficiently archaic to be credible as a Restoration text without being inaccessible to a modern reader. The supporting cast of characters is diverse and interesting: the lovers, the courtiers, the servants, the craftsmen, the Quakers and their insane patients – each has his or her own story, contributing to a densely textured evocation of the Restoration period.

Highly recommended – but if, like me, you have a copy of Restoration on a dusty shelf, do yourself a favour and read that first. 

Published by Chatto & Windus

Reviewed by Angi Holden - guest reviewer.

Many thanks to Angi for kindly reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library.

Dangerous Waters - Anne Allen

‘Was it a real memory or was her mind playing tricks on her?’

We meet writer Jeanne Le Page as she is on the ferry returning to her home on the island of Guernsey for the first time in many years. After the mysterious death of her parents, a riddle that has still never been solved, she is revisiting the place to sort out affairs after the death of her Grandmother who has left her old cottage to Jeanne. Having experienced a difficult, unhappy time in her life recently, Jeanne might be glad of the escape from England. However there are so many ghosts and traumatic memories for her on Guernsey that it is certain to be a difficult return; ‘the ghosts of the past were not going to lie down quietly.’

Jeanne initially intends to simply sell her inheritance and leave, however she makes a discover in the cottage relating back to the time of the German Occupation, and that makes her want to find out more and then she has to determine whether there is any future for her on Guernsey, whether she can come to terms with the events of her past there, and find some peace and a new life:

‘Would Guernsey be able to offer her the healing she so badly needed? She had loved it once. Perhaps the spark was still there.’

We follow Jeanne as she sets about the updating and renovation of the home left to her by her Gran, meeting up with old friends who are a great support to her, in particular Molly and Peter, and rekindling old acquaintances from school days. As she begins to establish herself on the island, the intriguing discovery she made will set in course a new and exciting writing project for her, and Jeanne wonders if she can finally lay the past to rest. But there is one thing that remains unsolved, namely the mystery surrounding her parents’ death, and the disturbing flashbacks that Jeanne experiences from time to time. And whilst this is unanswered, there seems to be an element of danger for Jeanne herself, too, in knowing who to trust. Molly offers to use her experience with hypnotism to help Jeanne revisit her memories and try and unearth the truth.

This is an enjoyable and intriguing read by Anne Allen, full of romance and mystery, and the setting of Guernsey is well evoked. Jeanne is a likeable main character; she is talented, brave and resourceful but also apprehensive and unsettled by recent and past events, and seeks to create some stability and normality in her life. She has suffered much pain and at times it overwhelms her.

I liked the author’s inclusion of historical aspects alongside and within the modern day story, which added to the intrigue and revealed more about Jeanne’s family heritage, as well as adding colour to the island’s past during the German Occupation. I also liked the mystery of the room in Jeanne’s Gran’s cottage which always held a chill for Jeanne whenever she entered. I wondered what it was that she sensed there. I was drawn into Jeanne’s life and her friendships on the island, and I found the story regarding her Gran interesting and moving. I enjoyed reading this atmospheric novel with its combination of love story and mystery. 

Published by Matador, an imprint of Troubador Publishing

Thanks to the author for kindly sending a copy of this novel to read and review.

You can find the author on twitter @AnneAllen21  and visit her website here.

Untying the Knot - Linda Gillard

'We set each other free, free to prove we could live without each other.'

Untying the Knot is a beautiful, character-driven novel, depicting the devastating consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting from a life spent in war zones, making bombs safe. Magnus has been severely affected by his former role, traumatised by flashbacks and scarred by horrendous memories, and his now ex-wife Fay has borne the brunt of his erratic behaviour until one day she could take no more, and she finally left him and moved on.

Magnus now has a new partner, Nina, who lives with him in the home that he previously shared with Fay. Tullibardine ‘Tully’ Tower, a place that takes on such an important role in the novel that it is like a character in itself, a formidable old 16th-century ruin, that Magnus insisted on taking on, restoring, against all protests from Fay that it was too much. Daughter Emily remained with her father, and has a new love, Rick, and there is talk of marriage. 

This is another beautifully written, emotional novel with depth in terms of characterisation and plot. I will be honest and admit I have genuinely loved and enjoyed reading every book that I have read by this author, but this one is probably my favourite. I am keen to read it again. It was one of the very first books I read on my Kindle and it was certainly a fine one to being with! I was gripped by this story and felt drawn into the characters' lives. 

I loved the way the characters were revealed in the opening chapter and thought this was very cleverly written. Linda Gillard has done her research on the topics incorporated into the story here, and has handled them sensitively but always with realism. 

The idea of memory is strong in this novel. For Magnus, memories are rife with 'demons.' Fay meanwhile deals with the memories of others, creating textiles for people, 'picture-histories':

'I spend my working life preserving other people's memories, trying to capture them in a form of textile 'still life', but I spent much of my marriage watching the man I loved being tortured - all but destroyed - by the demons of memory.'

Another strong emotion felt by Fay is fear: 'I was scared...Scared of how much I loved Magnus; how much my body wanted him; how much he wanted me; how I might fail him; how he might fail me;...I was scared of how ill Magnus was and how ill he'd always be...' 

I enjoyed discovering aspects of the old tower and the history of the place which were described within the book. 

There was also surprise and humour alongside the sadness and the more serious elements of the storyline.

This author seems to grasp how to write convincingly about love and emotion, the highs and lows, the intense passion and the deep pain, none more intense than that shared between Magnus and Fay here.

They are rounded characters who are flawed, scarred, confused, vulnerable and therefore so very human, so believable, and so compelling for the reader. They may be able to live without each other, but have they ever stopped loving each other?

The ending is thrilling and brilliant!

I think the cover of this one is beautiful. 

A marvellous read. 

Available to buy as an e-book for Kindle from Amazon now.

I bought this book. 

You can visit the author's website here and read more about the inspiration for this novel and the themes involved.

The Gilded Lily - Deborah Swift

Deborah Swift’s second novel, The Gilded Lily, tells the tale of two sisters, Ella and Sadie Appleby, who flee from Westmorland to London following the suspicious death of Ella’s employer. Once there they secure employment in a wigmaker’s workshop (a boom industry in the late 17^th century), but before long their past catches up with them and they are forced to go on the run once again.

Thanks to a fortuitous meeting with a rich young playboy, Ella lands a role in another growing new industry - the selling of beautifying lotions and potions to idle society ladies - in a shop called The Gilded Lily. However, Sadie finds survival less easy thanks to the port-wine birthmark which covers half her face and makes her an easy target for bounty hunters and busybodies eager to claim the reward offered for the capture of “The Savage Sisters”.

The sights and smells (particularly the smells!) of Restoration London are vividly described and the sisters’ exploits make for a fast-paced and exciting tale, rich in atmosphere and adventure. Ella is a bold and feisty young woman, making up for what she lacks in talent with a good dose of charm and naked ambition. Sadie is her polar opposite - bright but timid and sensitive. Although the main characters are fictional, the author has included enough actual events and cameos from real people of the time to give the story atmosphere and authenticity.

The storyline could lead to comparisons with Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue or Scapegallows by Carol Birch - I’d say it’s a lighter read than those two, but no less enjoyable, and in terms of period detail I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Apothecary’s Daughter by Charlotte Webb or The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell. I was really impressed by my first Deborah Swift novel and will be adding her to my list of ‘must read’ historical fiction authors. I’ve already ordered a copy of her first book, The Lady’s Slipper, from Amazon, and was pleased to see that it’s a sort of prequel, featuring some of the main characters from The Gilded Lily and a with a bit of 17^th century witch-hunting thrown in - sounds just my cup of tea.

Reviewed by Denise Powell.

Guest reviewer Denise Powell has kindly reviewed this novel for The Little Reader Library - many thanks to Denise for this lovely, insightful review. Denise is a very keen reader whose reviews I always enjoy reading and whose opinion I trust when choosing a book.

Published by Pan.

You can visit the author's site here and follow her on twitter @swiftstory

Thanks to the author and publisher for sending a copy of this novel to read and review.